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Roasting to hosting: A day in the life of mobile event barista, Alex

We take our mobile coffee bars to hundreds of events across the UK and Europe every year and it’s the responsibility of every team member to make sure each event is a roaring success.

Not only are our mobile event baristas trained in making cracking hot beverages, but they’re also brilliant events people and are responsible for your mobile coffee stand from start to finish. Whether it’s an afternoon’s service or a 5 day conference overseas, we meticulously plan every stage so it runs like clockwork.

To give you an idea of how the process works, we caught up with barista Alex to find out what a typical day (or couple of days) is like:

1. My day starts bright and early – or the night before

Each event starts bright and early at The Barista HQ, where we’ll have our first morning coffee and prepare to set off for the venue. Over a coffee, we’ll run through the pre-prepared event brief in full, one more time.

All the event kit is packed up a day or so before dispatch, so the morning of the event it’s just a case of checking it over once more.

This includes packing up the coffee which has been roasted on site specifically for the event. Coffee beans need several days to rest before being served and we’ll only pack beans at their optimum.

I’ll give all the equipment a final once over to make sure it’s clean and tested. Once marked as packed, the pack out is checked again before final sign off.

3. Then it’s time to load up and set off for the venue

Once the van is all packed and I’ve got our route planned, it’s time for an all-important and ceremonious ‘dispatch coffee’ with the team. Then we hit the road!

4. At the venue, we get the coffee stand set up and tested, and greet the client

On arriving at the venue we set up the coffee bar(s) in plenty of time, which is often the day before the event itself. I’ll double check all the event details on a tablet, before testing the equipment to make sure we’re set for service.

Once the coffee bars are settled into their new home, I’ll make sure both the client and our baristas are happy with everything – and that’s set-up complete!

5. It’s time to get serving coffee!

Arriving before the event starts, I’ll get the machine up to pressure and the coffee grinder dialled in. Everything will be ready for us to start serving fresh coffees as soon as the doors open, if not before!

6. We’ll then keep serving throughout the day until the last prospect has gone

Service is fully managed by myself and my team on-site, and if we need to restock, we’ll do so without needing to speak with the client. We’ll keep a track of exactly how many drinks we are making and will keep serving delicious coffees until the very last visitor has gone.

7. Then it’s time to pack up and leave

After service, we’ll pack up and leave everything clean and tidy. We’re a well-oiled machine by now so there’s no need for our clients to chase us to fit within the venues take-down slot. We’ll likely leave before they do! Then I’ll say goodbye and we’ll be on our merry way.

8. Once back, we’ll clean all the kit and store any remaining branding

I’ll make sure all the kit is checked back in, cleaned and checked. Then a full debrief is done with the other barista(s) and operations management, straight after the event. All the information from this is logged for future reference, should we work with this client or venue again.

Then it’s on to the next one!

It’s our efficient process that allows us to deliver a consistently fantastic service for our clients – which is why they book us time after time! Find out how we could add to your next event, and get in touch with the team.